Masters, personalities, leaveners busied in small laboratories, highly acclaimed entrepreneurs, designer labels from the well-known historic centres, great pastry chefs, bakers and ice cream makers with a passion for panettone: it makes no difference to the ranking of Panettone of Dissapore.
Our figure, if we have one, is the cheek to shuffle the cards, but without the habit of arbitrariness: the house wins, always and in any case. A tasting counter where names and brands are only codes, the result of a painstaking and reasoned pre-selection of artisan panettone made without compromise.
For this ranking 2022 we have limited to 60 days the shelf life of the products – and with great regret we have excluded big names -, sifted through labels even more than usual, demanding on cooking to the point of refusing to taste the great “too heavy” leavened products. And in error hierarchy which naturally must exist, we have examined collapsed doughs and imprecise developments, unacceptable and acceptable olfactory defects, pirlature gone wrong or irregularities of the alveoli as failures rather than fruits of craftsmanship.
Because it is still craftsmanship (tested at a precise moment) and the error, as they say, is the sign of the hand.
And while the prices of leavened products soar (you will notice the increases), since the crisis is pressing and the war is no less, our panel of editors murmurs: could it be that some producers are avoiding the expensive butter in favor of more agile fats for the wallet? Forgive the slight and racy thought, but behind a cough he dared to say “margarine” aloud. But this is not the place, today we want to express only happy thoughts, which are 31 (because of the almost equal merit of the last positions).
The best panettone of 2022, from 31st to 1st position
31. Pasticceria Pansa (-1 position)
Amalfi
Price: 38 euros
30. Soban (new entry)
Alexandria
Price: 36 euros
29. Renato Bosco (-24 positions)
San Martino Buon Albergo (VR)
Price: 40 euros
28. Chocolat (new entry)
Gassino (TO)
Price: 38 euros
27. Follador Bakery (-5 locations)
Pordenone (PN)
Price: 38 euros
26. Infermentum (returned)
Stallavena-lugo (VR)
Price: 33 euros
25. Pasticceria Moschella (new entrance)
Cornaredo (MI)
Price: 35 euros
24. Italo Vezzoli (-4 positions)
Carobbio degli Angeli (BG)
Price: 42 euros
23. Forno Gentile (-19 positions)
Gragnano (NA)
Price: 37 euros
22. Longoni (new entrance)
Milan
Price: 40 euros
21. Scarcella (new entrance)
Turin
Price: 37 euros
20. Roberto Cantolacqua (returned)
Tolentino (MC)
Price: 38 euros
19. Gelateria Mille (new entrance)
Verona (BS)
Price: 30 euros
18. Fornai Ricci (+ 5 positions)
Mont Aquila (IS)
Price: 36 euros
17. Angelo Grippa (-5 positions)
Eboli (SA)
Price: 35 euros
16. Vignola (-5 positions)
Solofra (AV)
Price: 35 euros
15. Faiella (new entrance)
San Marzano sul Sarno (SA)
Price: 38 euros
14. Rinaldini (+14 positions)
Cerasolo di Coriano (RN)
Price: 39 euros
13. Dolcemascolo (+1 position)
Frosinone (FR)
Price: 39 euros
12. Terminus (+15 positions)
Reggio Emilia
Price: 40 euros
11. Iginio Massari (+6 positions)
Brescia
Price: 43 euros
10. The Kiosk (returned)
Longo (VI)
Francesco Ballico’s panettone is included in the rankings, which stands out for its aromas and great elasticity, a sign of an excellent work on leavening. To make it the top ten is certainly the butteriness, which manages not to get boring bite after bite. Excellent aromas, imperfect cooking, tangible already from the hazelnut color, too light, of the shoe. Characteristic.
Price: 38 euros
9. Casa Manfredi (+15 positions)
Rome
Difficult to find fault with Casa Manfredi’s Milanese leavened product, a classic alto with bold buttery notes. Splendid to the eye, well executed and satisfying to the touch, it shows itself when cut in all its hive of regular holes. And it is perhaps for this reason that the taste, which could be more decisive, scatters our attention.
Price: 40 euros
8. Bompiani
Rome
Icing is a risk that Walter Musco knows well, who is a pastry designer and for this reason he seems to know how to prevent sagging and ugliness: here is the most beautiful sugary-almond hat in this ranking, which if you notice well, doesn’t have any icing. The beautiful panettone from Pasticceria Pompiani also stands out for the structure and development of the alveolus, the best placed in Rome despite a vaguely stinging aftertaste that is so end to a New Year’s Eve meal.
Price: 38 euros
7. De Vivo (+13 positions)
Pompeii (NA)
Presentist in this ranking, De Vivo’s panettone does not disappoint and indeed returns to its old glories, that is, in the top ten. It looks like a homemade pan brioche, a cuddle, so much so that it deviates from the idea that the very classic leavened product carries within it. With a majestic appearance starting from the regal scarp, very buttery, it shines in the structure and even gives toasted notes and citrons (toasted notes and citrons are unfortunately rare in today’s panettone). Candied fruit could give us greater satisfaction, but the “Panmilanese” of Pompeii has other qualities.
Price: 40 euros
6. D&GPatisserie – Denis Dianin (returned)
Selvazzano Inside (PD)
Very citrusy and almost spicy, the classic Milano by Denis Dianin re-enters the classification with an aromatic complex of bitter, sweet and acid that has something virtuoso about it. We note that we are dealing with a “tasting” panettone, the kind that is good to enjoy one slice at a time and possibly share given the intensity. Too much? No, just take it into account so you don’t get tired of it, unless you’re an orange fanatic.
Price: 36 euros
5. The Wheel (returned)
Perdifumo (SA)
This Cilento pastry had not gone unnoticed by our editorial staff, already being evaluated in the pre-Christmas tasting panel. Epperò only now manages to score high ratings and the merit is undoubtedly the balance between softness and roasting so difficult to achieve in an attempt to keep the humidity to the maximum, skimping on cooking: in this case the point of conjunction between the bitter note of the “Milano” peel and the fluffiness is textbook, with a very pleasant crust.
Price: 30 euros
4. Lorenzoni (new entry)
Monte San Savino (AR)
The Valdichiana pastry chef Stefano Lorenzoni stands out for the harmony of flavors in a perfect soft consistency, between woolly threads, memorable textures and marked vanilla notes. The editors’ notes complain about a candy that is too small and ungenerous, costing Tuscany the podium.
The Valdichiana pastry chef Stefano Lorenzoni
Price: 30 euros (for 750 grams)
3. Ciacco (+4)
Parma
One of the greatest amusements of the editorial staff is to see the artisans grow slowly, who panel after panel carve out an ever better place in the standings, confirming a bet. The case is that of Stefano Guizzetti aka Ciacco Lab, an ice cream maker from Parma and today a leavener with consolidated talent: a new entry in 2020, in 2021 he was in the top ten and in 2022 he is on the podium. He snacks very soft, generous in candied fruit and raisins on the verge of disproportion, thanks to the largest pieces of citrus fruit in our entire test.
Price: 38 euros
2. Bedussi (+11 positions)
Brescia (BS)
The work of Francesco Bedussi, yeast maker from 1987 as well as pastry chef in the family business, takes eleven positions, climbing the top of this ranking and reaching second position. And with the hindrance of a glaze – which in itself does not facilitate the craftsmanship of the panettone – slightly decomposed, with polka dots. On spinning, consistency and aromas, however, we are in the area of perfection.
1. Andrea Tortora (stable)
Volta Mantovana (MN)
Andrea Tortora maintains last year’s position, the first, in the Dissapore ranking dedicated to the best artisan panettone. As we said twelve months ago, it is the aromatic complexity that outperforms the competition, in a great balance between the sweetness of the bite, the aromatic intensity of the mixture and the tactile and gustatory quality of the candied fruit.
Fragrant, generous in the use of spice, that of Tortora is a contemporary panettone: despite the super-vanilla and the pomposity of citrus fruit and very juicy raisins (it’s still Christmas), the sweetness is very limited. On the contrary, the panel perceives a slight but clear hint of saltiness. And it is also for this reason that one would never get tired of eating it.
Price: 45 euros
